


This Ink That Stains

by risen_icarus



Series: Heart Pumping Ink [2]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: 9/11, ? - Freeform, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, Awkwardness, BEHOLD, Ben Doverman, Blow Jobs, Breakups, Dancing, Demolition, Dinner, Discoveries, Dreams, Flowers, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Formal Attire, Hallucinations, Henry is always early, Jealousy, M/M, Making Up, Maybe - Freeform, Modern Day, New York, No longer on hiatus, Oh look, Parties, Pizza, Reunions, Revelations, Rivals, Rolls Royce, Romance, Sappy, Second Date, Smut, THE SEQUEL IS HERE, Trying again, Vietnam, With a side of angst, all dressed up, all we know is that henry is a dumbass and bendy done fcked up, another strange customer, at like midnight, banquet, behold the conflict, bendy didn't actually do anything, business as usual, bye bye studio, dinner date, fancy bois, finally some delicious character descriptions, find out next week on PAIN OF EVERYTHING, group date, henry does some soul searching, henry owns a flower shop, henry u oblivious fool, hmmm, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, ink henry, invited, is henry a vers?, iykwim, jk jk next chapter is chill y'all, meet me on the balcony, not too much yet though, oh boy oh boy, ooooohh things get h e a t e d, or more like:, planning, promises to meet up later, super smash bros, times square, tiny bendy, two bros chillin on a couch five feet apart cause theyre very gay but don't know how to communicate, w h o o, we dont know, who is it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2019-03-06
Packaged: 2019-03-27 13:19:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 15,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13881687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/risen_icarus/pseuds/risen_icarus
Summary: Sequel toHeart Pumping InkHenry has reunited with Bendy, but things are a little shaky.And boy, are they about to get a whole lot shakier.





	1. Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> Behold, I finally got out of my writing block and have started writing the sequel!!
> 
> I honestly can't thank y'all enough for the support you gave me on the last one.
> 
> And, in the spirit of things, I'll start this off the same way I started off the last one.
> 
> I thought I was over the game, and then, well, the game tripped me, lit me on fire, and tossed me down into the hole from whence it came.
> 
> Enjoy, folks  
> -Tet

Running.

Henry was running.

And then he was throwing open the door to the studio.

And then he heard him.

“Hey doll, long time no see.”

Henry felt a warm feeling wash over him, a feeling of happiness. He couldn't help the grin that seeped across his face. But…

There was something odd about his voice. He squinted into the darkness, trying to make out Bendy's outline. 

"Down here stupid." Henry glanced down, spotting a small familiar form.

"…Bendy?" Henry tilted his head, confused. "You're.. so small." He wasn't 7 feet tall at the moment. He was about as tall as he was drawn in the animations, short and adorably chubby. Bendy grinned.

"Well duh, dyin' takes a lot outta ya, y'know." He gestured towards his small frame. "I mean, 'bleeding out' for me is basically losing parts of my body."

"I mean, that's kinda how it works," Henry mused, amused by Bendy's current state. Bendy made a disdainful face. 

"Listen, wise guy, I'm made of ink! My heart pumps ink! My skin? Oh take a wild fuckin' guess buddy, that's right it's ink! If I lose ink I shrink." Bendy rolled his eyes, or whatever his equivalent was, Henry assumed. Bendy grinned to show he was just playing around. "So, let's not stand by the door all awkward-like all day, come with me and tell me whatcha've been up to."

They went back down into the basement, and Henry told him about the kids along the way. 

"Aww shucks, kids are great." Bendy smiled and rubbed the back of his head. Henry smiled too, one of those genuine smiles that makes your eyes close, and he nearly walked into a pole in the process. Bendy collected ink from the floor and walls as they walked, slowly gaining height. By the time they returned to the place Henry had once begun to call home, Bendy was almost back to his original height, and they had basically finished catching up. But there seemed to be one plot hole left unfixed.

"You said that once I realized I was a ghost, I'd vanish, right?" Henry's question seemed to hang in the air, frozen. Bendy nodded. "So then why didn't I vanish?" Bendy made a Face™️ and made a weird half-shrug-half-'things' gesture.

"I'm just gonna roll with the 'it's cause of the possession thing' thing. Whatever used - or is using- you as a vessel still needed a vessel." Bendy sputtered, trying to figure out how else to explain it. Henry wasn't convinced. "For all I know it could be convenient plot devices and poor thinking! Who knows!" Henry stifled a chuckle and plopped down in a chair.

“So, that's what I've been up to. What about you?” Henry inquired, crossing his arms and propping his feet up on the table, which, though dusty, was still in relatively good condition. 

“Uhhhhhh, a whole lotta nothin’. I mean, I cleaned the place, does that count?” Bendy shrugged and took a seat across from Henry, eyeing him curiously. “Say, didn’t you, y’know, freak out, or somethin’, when ya changed into a demon?” Henry blinked, then laughed.

“I mean, yeah. I kinda had a breakdown when I left. Though it may have been caused by your death more than the whole demon thing. I dunno, either way the answer is yes.” Henry rubbed the back of his head, running his hands through his curls. Bendy mirrored the gesture.

“Aw, shucks, I’m honored,” Bendy said bashfully, smiling sheepishly. Henry smiled back, watching Bendy closely. Bendy did the same. “You okay, dollface?”

“Yeah, you?” Henry tried his best to not look suspicious, but there was only so much he could do. Bendy raised an eyebrow, perplexed.

“Yes, I’m fine.” Bendy paused for quite a long moment, and neither of them said anything, just stared at each other. “You’ve got a suspicious look on your face.”

Henry sighed. “I’m just…” He paused, feeling very vulnerable. “How do I know it’s actually you? That you’re real, really there?” Bendy blinked, taken aback. Uhh…

Bendy wasn’t sure how to respond. He certainly had a valid point, with ink anything was possible. That much was proven by the ink sentinels that had roamed freely around the studio. They sat for a moment, staring at each other in complete silence, hoping that an answer would waltz through the door. Unfortunately, no such luck. Damn. Then, Bendy had an idea.

“Well, if you wanted,” he paused, trying to make his best seductive voice, “I could prove it to ya, if ya know what I mean.” He winked. Henry snorted, throwing a crumpled up napkin at him.

“Yeah right, you’re on thin ice buddy.” Henry remembered how Bendy had betrayed him, and his amusement faded away. “Really thin ice,” he muttered, clearly enough for it to be understandable to Bendy. He sighed. Bendy winced a bit, his memory jogged. Riiiiightttt, that happened. He sheepishly shrunk a bit in his chair, drumming his fingers on the table. 

Wait, that was loud drumming. Kind of… too uniform. Bendy stopped drumming his fingers, and they both looked up at the ceiling. A bit of dust fell through a crack in the wooden panelling, and the rumbling got louder.


	2. Evicted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry and Bendy find that their safe studio won't be standing for much longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all this chapter is kinda short but I promise things are gonna start kicking off soon don't u worry ur lil heads

The rumbling sounded mechanic. The ink machine?

They both darted up the stairs, finding that the ink machine was off. The rumbing was coming from outside. Bendy led Henry to a small window, and upon peering out, everything became clear.

There was a construction team. With destruction equipment. There was a wrecking ball and everything.

Oh no.

Oh no oh no oh no.

Bendy ran away from the window, rummaging through a dusty old box and pulling out a few papers and… a suit? Henry watched him put all this stuff into a burlap sack and tie it shut. Bendy looked up at him expectantly. 

“C’mon, we gotta go!” Bendy turned and darted towards the back of the studio. Henry ran after him, confused.

“Wait whaT??” Henry nearly ran into Bendy when he stopped in front of Sammy’s Sanctuary. “What do you mean?” Bendy played the tune, opening the sanctuary and walking in. Henry walked in after him.

“You don’t wanna be in here when the building comes down, do you?” Bendy opened up a trap door in the floor as Henry shook his head.

“No….wait, Sammy had secret passageways?” Bendy rolled his eyes.

“Duh, how’d’ya think he got around so damn fast?” Bendy threw the sack down the hole, then looked up at Henry. “C’mon, get in,” he said, holding out his hand. Henry shifted uneasily, then reluctantly took Bendy’s hand and jumped in. Bendy followed soon after, shutting the door behind him and telling him which way to go.

Henry was very confused when they got there. “Wait, where are we?” In front of him was a large pool of ink, eerily still and reflective. Bendy inhaled, bracing himself. 

“Henry, I need you to trust me.”

Henry’s gaze shot to Bendy, alarmed. Bendy looked him in the eyes, a pleading look on his face. Henry looked up at him, then back at the ink, then back at Bendy, then steeled himself.

“...I trust you.” 

With those three words, Bendy pushed Henry into the ink, and Henry held his breath as he was submerged completely beneath the surface. 

Everything was black. Everything was dark. Henry could barely move, and he was running out of breath. And then something grabbed his ankle. He tried kicking at it, tried furiously to swim away from it. But it kept its grip, and was soon joined by several others. They felt like...hands. The hands pulled him down, deeper down, and it seemed like this pool of ink had no bottom. 

He ran out of breath. Ink filled his mouth, and, subsequently, his lungs. He started to feel dizzy, and, though he technically couldn’t die, as he was a ghost, he certainly felt like he was going to. 

And then he was blinded by light as he surfaced in the pool, coughing up ink and struggling to see through the ink coating his glasses. He felt a strong hand pull him up out of the ink and wrap him in a towel.

“Sorry..” Bendy mumbled, grabbing the burlap sack and then picking Henry up and carrying him through a hallway. Henry’s dizziness began to overwhelm him, and he closed his eyes for a bit. 

They walked for what seemed like hours, until finally Bendy set Henry down and pushed open a sewer grate, then climbed up and pulled Henry up after him. 

Bendy pushed the grate back into place and looked at Henry, a twinge of regret on his face. Henry cleaned off his glasses and found, to his astonishment, that his clothes had no ink on them whatsoever. But that was unimportant right now.

“What was that?” Henry asked, not trying to hide the irritation in his voice. Bendy began to explain.

“Since we can’t stay in the studio anymore, that means you can’t be a ghost anymore.” Henry tensed, anxiety creeping up in his system. 

“What do you mean…?” Henry stared wide-eyed at Bendy, more concerned than irritated now.

“You’re made of ink now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ink, you say?


	3. New Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for a new start. Without Bendy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't worry y'all i promise the chapters will start getting longer very soon

“Wh...What?” Henry was flabbergasted, trying to wrap his brain around it. It didn’t take long for his confusion to be replaced by a volatile mixture of emotions: despair, anger, fear, uncertainty, anxiety. “You fucking turned me into ink?!” Bendy winced, trying (and failing) to come up with a legitimate explanation.

“Like I said, because we can’t stay in the studio, you can’t be a ghost. If you were to stay a ghost, you wouldn’t make it very far.” Bendy babbled, trying to find some reason to justify turning him into ink.

“What do you mean?” Henry groaned, exasperated. He looked down at his hand and noticed it was melting. He held it up angrily at Bendy, and Bendy sighed.

“Yeah, that happens when ya get upset.” Bendy looked down at the ground as the faint sound of destruction echoed in the distance. “Listen, we’ve- it was the only way.” Bendy knew he was lying, not only to Henry, but to himself. Henry probably could have survived just fine as a ghost, and they both knew it. 

“You’re an asshole. You really are.” Henry wasn’t sure what else to say, he just had no words for anything that was going on besides you are an asshole. Bendy reached out his hand, in a mixed gesture of apology and reaching for Henry’s hand, but Henry backed away. “No.”

Bendy looked at Henry, confused and pleading. Henry’s face was expressionless, but upon making eye contact with Bendy a twinge of betrayal shone across his face. Henry looked at him for a moment, then turned and walked away.

“Wait!” Bendy yelled after him, but Henry kept walking. Pretty soon he had rounded the corner of the alleyway and disappeared into the street. Bendy dropped to his knees, regret and sadness flooding his head.

Henry was gone…

Gone. 

Bendy sat on the floor of the alleyway for a while, thinking and holding his head in his hands. He messed up. He had messed up and he knew it, he knew it and he didn’t stop himself. 

He didn’t stop himself, and now look what had happened. 

You’re an idiot, Bendy.   
He broke down. He sat against the brick wall of the alley and knew, deep down in his inky heart, that he’d made a huge mistake. 

—

Henry walked. He kept walking, ignoring the glances that people on the street gave him as he walked by. He didn’t like it. He didn’t like being seen again. He didn’t like having to walk through the crowds of people in the town square, knowing each and every one of them could see him clearly.

He didn’t know where to go. His home wasn’t his anymore, and the studio was being demolished. He didn’t have a job, he didn’t have any money-

Wait a minute.

Yes he did.

Henry took a sharp turn and arrived at the bank a short while later. He checked and, sure enough, his account had money in it. Enough to get a place to live, that’s for sure. 

Over the next couple of months, Henry got back on his feet. He got a small place to live on the edge of town, and got a job working for a newspaper. He slowly began to forget.

Years passed. He lived through the civil rights movement. He nearly got drafted to go to Vietnam, but luckily he managed to skip out on the draft. He did go to Vietnam, but it was as a reporter, not as a soldier. He documented the war, taking pictures, writing articles, and taking video. It really was a gruesome war. 

He earned the nickname “Mr. Invincible” due to the fact that he was shot several times, but always came back out as fine as ever. If only they knew.

He also had a keen eye for booby traps, tripwires, mines, and things that weren’t really dead.

After Vietnam, he came back and continued his job as a journalist until the mid-80s, when he decided it was time for a change. He resigned from his position as lead journalist, then took the funds he had amassed and moved to a different house across town, closer to the city center than he had been. New York was growing fast, and he figured that he should change things up a bit. 

Henry started a new job as a programmer, and he kept that job until the late 90s, when he switched to a desk job at the World Trade Center. 

He was at work on September 11, 2001. Luckily, he survived. Probably because he was made of ink. It traumatized him, to say the least. A few months after that, he politely refused reassignment to a skyscraper in city center, and resigned from his job. He then began working for a small family-owned deli, where he worked for the next 14 years. 

In 2015, he parted ways with the deli and started a flower shop. Henry’s shop was located fairly close to Times Square, and he got a lot of customers. Eventually he grew enough to hire another person to help run the shop. 

It is now late 2017. A rather dapper-looking businessman has just come into the shop asking for several large bouquets of flowers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah yes, new york, full of businessmen


	4. Business as..usual?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry's guest makes a rather large order. Luckily, Wally's there to help.
> 
> And is it just Henry, or is someone in his room?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's a lot of flowers

Henry greeted the man as he would any other customer...who was particularly attractive.

“Hello, welcome to my sh-“ he greeted, nearly tripping over a stack of magazines in his distractedness. Luckily, he caught himself and straightened back up, stepping around the dangerous pile of flower magazines. The man looked at him quizzically, but said nothing. 

The man was certainly attractive. He was tall, taller than Henry, and his slicked-back jet-Black hair and dark eyes were places to get lost in. He wore a suit, perfectly tailored to fit him. Ugh he was gorgeous.

Henry cleared his throat, tucking a stray curl back behind his ear. “Welcome to my shop.” The man smiled charmingly, - stay focused Henry.

“I’ve heard ya sell fine flowers,” he said, looking around the shop and letting his gaze rest on Henry. “And it seems ya do. Anyways, I was hoping I could purchase some flowers.” Henry blinked, then shook his head and nodded. 

“Sure thing, how many?” Henry expected something like, one bouquet, or just a few. 

“12 large bouquets.”

Henry coughed, shocked. The large bouquets each had 60 flowers in them, not counting the decorative foliage, and 12 of them?????? T w e l v e ?????????????????????????? That’s 720 flowers!!! Henry cleared his throat and tried to stifle his surprise.

“Okay, uh, when would you need them by?” Henry had a shipment coming in tomorrow morning, and he doubted he had enough right now, so hopefully the deadline wasn’t, you know, tonight. 

“Next week, if that’s fine. I’ve got a company banquet I’m throwing, and someone recommended ya to me,” the man responded, seemingly trying to explain. Henry nodded, scribbling notes down on his handy-dandy notepad. 

“What’s the theme? Or, like, uh, well, color preferences? Stylings? You can just give a theme and it works the same,” Henry babbled, stumbling over his words like a drunken man stumbles down the street at 2AM after a long night at the club, or bar, or pub, whichever you may call it. The man seemed to chuckle, but quickly stopped and composed himself. 

“It’s a holiday banquet. Really, just a ‘winter’ theme will work,” he responded, shoving his hands in his pockets and grinning. Henry finished scribbling and glanced up at the man.

“And uh, can I have a name? To uh, you know, to file the order under. It can be a company name too if y-”

“Doverman. Benjamin Doverman.” Henry wrote it down underneath everything else he had written, and put his pen away. 

“Alrighty!”

They finished discussing the rest of the details, and Mr. Doverman paid, and then he left.

After he was gone, Henry glanced at his name again and snorted.

Ben Doverman. Bend over man. How weird. And kind of unfortunate, in the minds of preteen boys.

 

\---

 

The next morning, Henry called the farm he got his flowers from and placed the order for the flowers he needed for the order. They would get there on Monday, a week from today, and the banquet was on Tuesday, so he’d have plenty of time to arrange them and get them to the place where the banquet was being held. Which was just across from the company’s skyscraper itself. Yikes. Luckily the banquet hall was on the first story. 

He went about business as usual. No more orders of 720 flowers came in (thankfully), and he let his employee, Wally, go home early. 

 

Tuesday was a good business day, due to the fresh shipment of flowers the day before. 

 

Then, on Wednesday, he had a visitor in his shop. One not there for flowers.

He looked up from the flower magazine on the counter to see a young woman, around her twenties, wearing a suit and standing in front of him, a somewhat bitchy look on her face.

Henry looked at her, confused, and she rolled her eyes and thrust a small, decorative envelope at him. Henry took it from her, glancing from her to the envelope, and back to her, and back to the envelope.

“From Mr. Doverman. Please respond by Saturday at the latest.” With that, she briskly walked out of the shop, ignoring Henry’s distressed confusion noises.

Well, she certainly wasn’t keen on coming back. He glanced back down at the envelope, steeling himself and opening it carefully. 

Inside was a simple, yet elegant white card with delicate golden decorations on the corners and borders. Written in pretty cursive was his name. Henry Drew.

He opened the card, scanning the words. It was an invitation. To the banquet. He thought for a moment, trying to wrack his brain for reasons why he might have been invited.

Maybe it was customary to invite the suppliers of the party decor? The caterers? Or maybe it was a way of saying ‘sorry for purchasing 700 flowers’? Or………????????

He did kinda want to go.

Okay, sure, why not go. 

 

After the work day was over, the shop all locked up, Henry headed home, keeping the invitation in his pocket. He lived within walking distance of his shop, only a few blocks away, and he made it home about 15 minutes later, a little longer than usual because he stopped to pet the stray cats he passed.

Once he was inside, and once he had set down his stuff, he picked up his phone and called the RSVP number listed in the invitation. An exhausted lady picked up.

“Hello?” she asked, sounding like she was just about ready to fight someone. Henry tried to figure out how to answer.

“Hi, my name is Henry Drew-”

“Oh,” she cut him off, and Henry wasn’t sure if her tone was disdainful or just plain tired.

“I was just calling to RSVP for-”

“The banquet. Yeah sure okay, I’ll check you off.” A sound of a pen scribbling on paper came through the phone, and then her voice startled him.

“Anything else you needed?” She seemed less stressed now, but still not keen on making this a long conversation. 

“Uh, no- no I think that’s everything. Thank you,” he said, and the instant he was done talking she hung up. O...kayyy…???? Maybe it was just a rough night. He set his phone down and went to go eat something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I. have been stuck. on chapter 7. for two weeks. send help


	5. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry seems to be a bit exhausted from all the work he's been doing, and it's starting to affect his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is really long to make up for this one's short-ness

The week passed quickly, and soon Monday was upon him like a jumpscare. Except, it wasn’t ‘scary’. Well, it was, but more in the ‘oh god it’s monday the thing is tomorrow and we need to arrange 12 bouquets while still running the shop like normal’ way. He let Wally be in charge of the shop while he arranged the flowers. 

By the time he was finished nitpicking all of the different arrangements, it was almost closing time, and he was ready to go home and pass out on the couch. Henry and Wally moved the arrangements into the cool room to keep them fresh until the next day, and Henry briefed Wally on the next day.

“So, tomorrow we’re gonna be closed.” Wally nodded, a look of relief washing over his face. “You don’t have to come in, but if you want to you can come and help me load the arrangements into the truck.” Henry looked at Wally, already knowing his answer.

“No offense Henry, but I cherish sleep.” Henry laughed, patting Wally on the back.

“Don’t sweat it,” Henry said. “Go ahead and relax.” With that, they said goodbye and went their separate ways home. 

Once Henry got home, he face planted onto the couch and groaned. What a long day. And tomorrow he had to go to the banquet thingy. Ugh. 

He forced himself up off the couch and got some leftovers from the fridge, then ate while standing in the kitchen dissociating, and then went to bed. 

—

“Henry.”

Henry bolted up in bed, looking around. No one was in his room, besides himself. Maybe it was from his dream? The voice was eerily familiar.

Bendy. That’s who it was.

Okay, now he was really unnerved.

As far as he was concerned, Bendy was long gone and that was a good thing. He had gone too far, and even though it had been almost 56 years, Henry still wasn’t sure he was ready to forgive him. IF he forgave him. The ink thing was a dick move and he knew it.

“Henry.”

Henry’s head spun around, searching for the source of the voice. Still no one there. Maybe he was just too ti-

“Henry! Are you even awake??” The source of the voice was coming from his phone, which had slipped from his pillow down next to where he had been laying. It was Wally. 

“Yeah yeah I’m up, why?” Henry asked sleepily, yawning mid-sentence. Wally groaned.

“You called me, dumbass.” Henry could almost hear Wally rolling his eyes in exasperation. It was 2:33 AM. 

“Sorry. I guess my phone slid off the pillow and my arm touched the call button? Probably. We’ll go with that,” Henry said, rubbing his eyes. They were good friends, but even so, calling in the middle of the night wasn’t something they did. They both cherished sleep. Wally had only ever called Henry in the middle of the night once, and that was when he had been out clubbing all night long and was too drunk to get home.

“Did you need somethinggg orrrrrrrrrrrr……………???????” Wally asked, and his voice sounded like his normal nonchalant tone, but a twinge of concern slipped through the phone. Henry sighed.

“No I’m fine, just thinking about the past,” Henry answered, running a hand through his hair. Wally snorted.

“Man, you’ve been up for all of five minutes - maybe - and you’re already awake enough to think?” Wally laughed. “Dude, I’m barely awake enough to comper ansrehensibly- an...nasner compredily- answer...comprehensibly. See?” Henry laughed, relaxing back into his pillows now that he knew there was no one in the house. 

They talked for a bit, about sleeping and comprehensibility of basic thought at 2:40AM on a Tuesday morning, and then by 2:50 they ended the call to get more sleep. Henry laid in bed for ten more minutes before falling asleep, convinced the shadows were staring at him. But that was a normal everyday thing, maybe only slightly boosted by the unease of hearing a voice in the middle of the night.

He did fall back asleep though, and before he knew it his alarm was waking him up at 5:30AM and it was very dark outside because it was the winter solstice and therefore the shortest day of the year.

Henry got up and got dressed, then heated up a muffin in the microwave and grabbed his water bottle and sat in front of his laptop for an hour eating and watching vines on youtube. Then he left for the shop.

Really, he didn’t have to have the flowers there until 2PM, and it was currently 6:45AM, and he wasn’t very far away from this banquet building, so it would probably take 20-30 minutes to get there (depending on traffic), and it would only take about a half-hour to load up the truck, AND the banquet didn’t start until 5PM. So why was he here so early?

Oh yeah. Right.

He needed a suit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> h o O Henry just loves to hyperfixate on work doesn't he


	6. Banquet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry gets himself a nice suit, and arrives waaayyyy too early, as usual. Actually, the flowers were on time, but Henry was early. So, to kill time, Mr. Doverman invites Henry back to his place for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS A HECKIN LONG CHAPTER BRACE YOURSELVES
> 
> also i finally finished chapter 7 woot woot

The card had said black-tie event. So basically formal wear. 

He waited in the shop until around 8:30, then walked down the street to a shopping centre, browsing the formal wear stores. Eventually he found one store which seemed to fit his style, and went inside. He emerged about an hour later with a bag containing one suit and about two hundred dollars less in his bank account. 

He returned to his shop and realized just how much time he had left to goof off. 

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the entrance, and he looked up to see Mr. Doverman standing outside, waving at him. Henry smiled, getting up and letting him in. Mr. Doverman took off his hat and looked around. 

“So, I hear you're coming to the party tonight,” Mr. Doverman says, gazing at a display of flowers absentmindedly.

“Yeah, uh, thank you for that. The invitation, I mean,” Henry responded, rubbing the back of his head. Mr. Doverman turned his gaze to Henry, intense eyes boring into his face. Henry squirmed a bit under the gaze, and Mr. Doverman looked elsewhere.

“No problem. I figured it was the least I could do to thank you,” he replied, shoving a hand in his pocket to fish out his phone, checking a message he must've gotten. “Well, it appears things are fallin’ apart without me,” he joked, putting his phone back in his pocket and putting his hat back on. “See you in a few hours.”

With that, he left the store and got in his car, driving off. Henry wasn't sure how he felt about that strange encounter. 

But damn was he hot.

 

\--

 

A while later, Henry loaded up the truck and put all his stuff in the passenger seat, including the suit and a boutonniere he had taken from the shop’s accessory display. He locked up the shop, then got in the truck and drove over to the banquet hall. It took about 25 minutes due to the traffic, and he pulled into the delivery area a few minutes shy of 2:00. They were ready for him, however, and swiftly swooped in to unload the truck.

While they were unloading, Henry got out and stretched, wondering if the hall’s bathrooms were big enough (and clean enough) to get changed in. His thoughts were interrupted by a door being opened and a voice echoing across the room.

“Henry! On time, as I knew you would be,” Mr. Doverman said, smiling and opening his arms for a hug. Henry reciprocated, feeling weird about the whole thing. He had only known Mr. Doverman for a week, and yet it felt like they were old friends. Maybe that's just the kind of personality Mr. Doverman has. The hug was brief, and Mr. Doverman looked Henry up and down.

“You're not wearing a suit!” he exclaimed, startling Henry. Henry wasn't sure how to respond, motioning towards his truck.

“I've got a suit in there,” he said, looking at the truck over his shoulder. “I just didn't want to risk getting my suit dirty before it was time, you know? I was planning on changing into it in the bathroom later.”

“In the bathroom? C’mon that's ridiculous! You can change at my place if ya want,” Mr. Doverman said, grinning. “You can follow me there in your truck when they're done unloadin’ it.” Henry blinked, stifling a surprised cough. 

“No I don't want you to go out of your way-”

“Nonsense! You're my guest, it is only right that I give you my hospitality.”

And, resigning to his fate, Henry followed Mr. Doverman back to his building a few minutes away, parking next to his car. He led Henry to the elevator and the elevator took them to the penthouse. 

It was an elaborate home. It really was. Much bigger than Henry's own house, it was decorated much like one would expect a posh NYC penthouse to be. Lavish, well-decorated, expensive. Henry felt like if he touched anything it might shatter under his fingertips. 

“Please, feel free to set your stuff anywhere. We've still got, like, two hours before we've gotta go again,” Mr. Doverman said, plopping down on the couch. Henry set his stuff down next to the front door, standing next to it awkwardly for a few minutes. “Dude, c’mon, you can sit down ya know,” Mr. Doverman added, patting the couch next to him. Henry shuffled over and sat down on the posh couch a foot and a half or so away from Mr. Doverman. 

“Uh, thank you Mr. Doverman, by the way,” Henry said, breaking the silence after a few minutes. Mr. Doverman looked taken aback, baffled even. 

“For what? And uh, please, call me Ben,” he responded, confused. Henry kept his eyes trained on the floor, his hands fiddling with the edge of the couch. Mr. Doverman - Ben - looked at him whilst he did so, almost as if he were trying to decipher an ancient text.

“Well, one, for inviting me...and two for letting me change here, and three for buying flowers,” Henry babbled, speaking almost too fast to comprehend. Ben just stared at him for a moment, then laughed.

“Oh sure no problem,” Ben responded, “but it’s not a big deal. Really.” He looked from Henry’s face to his hands, which were still fiddling with the edge of the couch. Henry paused his fiddling, just barely glancing over at Ben. 

“So uh, why did you bring me over here so early?” Henry questioned, puzzling Ben.

“W...well,,, it’s probably gonna take ya an hour to get into your suit, considering how many pieces it consists of and the fact that you’ve probably never worn a suit like that before, judging by the brand-new bag,” Ben responded, staring at the black TV screen. Henry made a Face, confused and a bit sassy.

“Okay, so what’s with the other hour?” 

Ben made a guilty face, knowing he’d been caught. He hadn’t had any more of an idea than Henry. Neither of them said anything, and Ben wracked his brain, searching for an idea, anything they could do.

“Do you like video games?” Ben asked, and Henry nodded. “What about Smash Bros?” Henry nodded again. “Wanna play?” A third nod. “That settles it then!” He got up and turned on the WiiU and the TV, and got everything set up.

Henry and Ben were equally matched, and they played for the next hour. Henry won most of the rounds, but Ben claims that was because he was letting Henry win. Henry isn’t so sure. 

In the next hour, Henry gets changed into his suit, with Ben shouting tips and helpful tricks through the door. Henry came out finally, and Ben whistled in appreciation. Henry’s suit was a soft cream color with subtle gold trim here and there complimenting his gorgeous caramel skin and everything else about his outfit, and crisp black dress pants that were just the right length for his legs. His shoes were shiny and new, polished, no scuffs at all. He had actually put time into cleaning his glasses, and they were spotless. His curly dark brown hair was the same as it always was, but maybe with less flyaways. On his left lapel was a boutonniere, a calming purple set of calla lilies. 

Henry looked at Ben and noticed he had gotten changed too. He was wearing a black suit which contrasted with his pale complexion, with a white undershirt and black pants and shoes, and a rather fancy looking watch on his wrist. Ben too had a boutonniere, but his was a brilliant red rose. His jet black hair, as always, was slicked back, and he wore white gloves on his hands and a black bowtie around his neck.

“Damn doll, ya look great!” Ben exclaimed, and Henry sheepishly dropped his head.

“So do you,” he responded, staring at the floor. Ben smiled and patted Henry on the shoulder.

“Ya ready to go?” he asked, glancing at his watch.

“Yeah let me just get my keys,’ Henry responded, turning to go get his keys from his bag. He was stopped by a hand on his shoulder, and turned around with a quizzical look on his face.

“Keys?? I’m drivin’ ya!” Ben said, grinning. Henry was confused, but…

It was being offered, and he was a guest…..

“Okay, fine,” Henry finally agreed, grabbing his bag anyways, knowing he would probably need his wallet and phone at the very least. 

Ten minutes later and they were pulling into the circle in front of the banquet hall. They slowed to a stop and got out, and Henry noticed there were a lot of other people here. Most of them wealthy business owners and other rich people, and their guests, and they were all dressed in what looked to be extremely expensive clothes. Henry felt very out of place. 

Ben handed the keys to a chauffeur and led Henry up the stairs and into the main hall, which was well-decorated, with 12 tables off to the side, each with one of his bouquets in the center, and each meant to hold 20 people. Ben led Henry to one of the tables near the center, where there were namecards. Ben and Henry’s were right next to each other. Henry set his stuff down under his chair, then took a seat. Ben sat next to him, taking a sip from his pre-filled water glass. Henry watched him, fairly sure he knew this man from somewhere. 

A half-hour later, Ben got up from his seat and went to go stand in the middle of the room. The room went silent, all eyes on him. The DJ paused the music. 

“Thank you all for coming,” Ben began. “It’s been an amazing year, and I can’t wait to spend another one with you all. So thank you.” Pause for applause. “I would also like to give a special thanks to all of our caterers, who provided us with the amazing food, decor, flowers, and equipment.” More applause. Ben seemed to be looking directly at Henry when he said this, and Henry wasn’t sure how to feel about that. “Thank you all, and please, enjoy yourselves tonight.” With that, he ended his brief speech and returned to his seat. 

The night resumed, and the people at the table chatted whilst eating their meals. Henry didn’t say anything, just listened to their comments about stock and business, and occasionally about non-business things such as family. 

After a while, the DJ announced it was time for the dance. Henry internally groaned. Last time he had danced had ended kind of wild. He stayed in his seat, watching everyone else get up and migrate to the dance floor. They danced for a while, and Henry enjoyed watching some of the people who had had a little too much to drink nearly topple on top of their partners. He drank some champagne while he sat there, and he MAY have drunk a little more than necessary. Towards the end of the night, the DJ spoke to the crowd.

“Ladies, Gentlemen, and other folk of other genders, it is time for the same-sex dance!” Henry coughed, choking a bit on the water he had been sipping. Since when was that a thing that banquets had????????? Henry looked up and noticed that Ben was looking at him from across the room, a devious smile on his face. Oh dear lord no. Ben made his way across the room, pausing in front of Henry and offering Henry his hand.

“Would ya like to dance, doll?” Those words stung a bit, so eerily familiar it hurt. Those were the same words Bendy had said to him that night. But Ben’s face was earnest and kind, and Henry cursed himself for falling victim to it. He finished the last of his water and took Ben’s hand, letting him lead him to the dance floor. He was almost sure he was going to regret this, but he was slightly drunk and honestly had nothing to lose.

Well, that was a lie, but whatever.

The DJ began the song, and Ben spun Henry around, and then they stepped around a bit to the rhythm of the song. Ben’s hand found a place on Henry’s waist, and his other hand was clasped around Henry’s. Ben picked Henry up and spun him, and then their dance sped up. Step back step back step left and spin, step right step forward step forward and slide. The moment seemed to last forever, and Henry finally mustered up the courage to look Ben in the eye. Ben was staring at him intently, and right as their eyes met, the song ended and Ben dipped Henry, smiling softly at him. The people clapped, and everyone who was dancing got off the dance floor. Henry went back to his seat, finding his water glass refilled. He hadn’t sat down yet when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Come see me on the south balcony,” Ben’s voice whispered into his ear. Chills ran up his spine and Ben wandered off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ohohohohohohohohHOHOHHOHOHOOHOHOHOHOHO
> 
> What happens next, I wonder??


	7. Afterparty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's be honest, when someone seductively whispers into your ear, telling you to meet them somewhere private, it can only lead to one thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AVERT YOUR EYES YOUNG ONES
> 
> also sorry for the late upload, had to go back n reread it to figure out the tags

Henry found the south balcony after a few minutes of walking. Ben was leaning up against the railing, looking out at the garden below. Henry walked up and stood next to him, his hands gripping the railing as if he were gripping the edge of a building, the only thing keeping him from falling away. He vaguely registered that Ben had looked over at him. He turned to look at Ben, and found he was a lot closer than he had thought.

Ben was looking at him, a calm look on his face. Henry’s face flushed red, and his heartbeat was suddenly incredibly present in his chest. 

“So uhh, wanna head back to my place?” Ben asked, and Henry’s heart nearly stopped. Was he implying what he thought he was implying? Was every single dance going to end like this?? Was he just too drunk to properly comprehend anything??? Henry took in a shaky breath and nodded.

“Yeah.”

 

\--

 

Henry grabbed his stuff, and Ben said goodbye to everyone left, and then they got the car and drove back to Ben’s building. The ride up the elevator seemed painfully long, and the air was full of tension. By the time the doors finally opened at the top and they walked into the penthouse, the tension was so thick it would break a knife blade trying to cut it. Henry set his stuff down next to the door and Ben watched him. They made eye contact and the world seemed to freeze. They were much closer than Henry had thought, and suddenly Ben closed the distance and gently pressed their lips together, and Henry’s eyes widened before fluttering closed, reciprocating the kiss. 

The kiss was the first he’d had since he’d been with Bendy. And oh god it was amazing. He felt extremely touch starved. 

They broke from the kiss a moment later, Henry’s breaths shaky and his face red. Ben’s face was red too, and they looked at each other for a moment. Ben’s eyes seemed to be searching deep down within Henry’s soul, and Henry felt very vulnerable. Which was somehow arousing. Ben seemed to find his answer in Henry’s eyes and kissed him again, more hungrily than the first time. Henry felt his back hit the wall, and the kiss continued, one of Ben’s hands on his chest and the oth-oH mY GOd

Henry let out a weak moan, gasping as Ben’s hand pressed firmly against his crotch. Ben took the opportunity to slip his tongue into Henry’s mouth, caressing Henry’s tongue with his own. Henry’s fists clutched at Ben’s suit jacket, his breath coming in quick pants. Ben pulled away from his mouth and began to kiss along his jawline, then down to his neck. His hand grabbed at Henry’s crotch, searching for the zipper. Henry’s hands couldn’t be clenched any tighter, and he let out a squeaky moan when Ben’s hand brushed against his dick through the thin fabric of his underwear. 

His arms flew around Ben’s neck when his hands made contact with his heated skin, a choked moan escaping his lips. Ben’s tongue and lips danced along Henry’s neck, his hand palming Henry. Henry wanted - needed - to touch him. He let one of his hands trail down Ben’s chest and blindly groped at Ben’s crotch. Ben groaned, removing his hand from Henry’s pants and planting one hand on either side of Henry’s head. He kissed Henry on the lips, then picked him up and carried him into the bedroom. 

Ben dropped Henry onto the bed, crawling on top of him and grinding their hips together, eliciting a groan from both of them. Henry grabbed Ben's collar and pulled him into a kiss, feeling the bed dip on either side of his hips as Ben leaned forward on his hands. Henry reached down with his free hand and roughly grabbed at the bulge in Ben's pants, making the man above him shudder and let out a choked moan as he faltered. Henry took this moment to slip his hand into Ben's pants, wrapping his hand around Ben's dick and relishing in the moans and gasps. He slowly began to jerk him off, keeping his gaze trained on Ben's face, which was making amusing expressions.

Henry pulled his hand away after a few minutes and rolled them over, pulling off Ben's pants and underwear and looking up at him from his dick, which was red, needy, and standing at attention. Ben blushed, eyes wide as he watched Henry creep closer to his heated skin before he squeezed them shut as he felt Henry's tongue press flat against the underside of his head and quickly flick up. Henry moved his mouth down to the base of Ben's dick, letting his teeth gently graze his skin as he moved. Ben shuddered, peeking one eye open long enough to see Henry lift his head back up and take his dick in his mouth. Ben moaned loudly, gripping the covers tightly. 

“Damn Henry,” he managed to choke out between moans, “where'd you learn that?” Henry smirked, pulling away from Ben's dick just enough to look up at him and wink. Ben made a weak noise and his head hit the bed as Henry started bobbing up and down. Henry pinned his hips down firmly with his hands, licking and sucking and, occasionally, gently biting. Ben was trying to roll his hips, but failing in the grip of Henry. His moans steadily increased in pitch as Henry sucked him off, until Ben climaxed, letting out a choked moan and arching his back, his body spasming as Henry stayed put and swallowed.

Henry pulled away and looked up, expecting to see Ben laying on the bed still. Instead, he was face-to-face with Ben, who had a devilish look on his face. He pulled Henry into a kiss, stripping him of his jacket and shirt, and rolling them over again so that he was on top of Henry. He pushed Henry into the bed, tugging at his pants and, once they were finally off, he tilted Henry’s head back and nipped at the sensitive spot on the corner of the jawbone. Henry’s breath quivered, and a wave of pleasure rolled through his body as Ben’s hand trailed down his stomach and rested on his dick. 

Ben kept his hand there as he used his other to take off his own jacket and shirt, tossing them to the side somewhere near the rest of their clothes. He bent back down and captured Henry's lips in a deep kiss, moving his hand and grinding their hips together. Henry tried to muffle his groan, failing as he let Ben into his mouth. They kissed for a moment, pausing so that Ben could slide Henry further up the bed.

Henry watched in anticipation as Ben pulled two objects out of a drawer beside the bed: a condom and lube. He watched Ben put the condom on and squeeze what was potentially an excessive amount of lube into his hand. Ben returned to Henry, pressed him into a laying down position, and spread his legs.

Henry squeaked at the cold, slick finger rubbing up against his anus. He shuddered and let out a quiet moan when said finger pushed inside, wiggling around a bit before it curved sharply and brushed up against his prostate. Henry arched his back and bent one of his legs, moaning. Ben gently kissed Henry's inner thigh and added a second finger, stretching and thrusting. Henry wondered how his fingers could be so god damn long.

Soon - perhaps too soon for Henry's taste - the fingers were withdrawn and Henry was pressed into the bed. He peeked one eye open and was a bit startled to see Ben inches away from his face. Ben's eyes held a familiar gleam, stirring an emotion Henry couldn't place. Before Henry could react, Ben closed the gap and pressed their lips together, much more gentle than earlier, and Henry let his eyes flutter shut.

A mistake, really, because the next instant he felt the bed shift and then Ben was pushing inside, and the two of them groaned in unison at the feeling. Ben slowly pushed himself in, much to Henry's distaste. Once fully sheathed, he began to move. In… Out… in… Out… In.. Out.. In. Out. In. Out. In Out in Out in out in out. Speed increased and so did force.

Henry gripped the covers tightly, his head thrown back and his mouth making noises that, Ben thought, were quite exciting and arousing. Henry felt a knot building in his stomach, and his hands flew up to Ben in an attempt to grab something more solid. Ben took the opportunity to switch up their positions, shifting them so that he was sitting and Henry was sitting on his lap facing him. 

Henry kept his eyes squeezed tightly shut out of embarrassment. With nothing visual to focus on, he noticed that they weren't moving anymore. A gentle hand brushed against his cheek and fingers ran through his hair.

“Henry.” Ben spoke softly, gently, there might've even been a hint of pleading in his voice. Henry was afraid to open his eyes, afraid of what he might see. “Henry,” Ben said again, and Henry peeked an eye open. Good god he was beautiful. Ben locked eyes with him, a gesture both intimate and invasive. After a long moment of silence, Ben spoke.

“You… You're okay with this? With me…?” His question was confusing. What did he mean?

“Of course I am,” Henry answered, allowing himself to kiss Ben. Ben happily obliged, rolling his hips and making the kiss falter. Henry broke away, panting. Ben rolled his hips again, making Henry moan and bury his face against Ben. Ben planted his hands on Henry's hips and lifted him up and down rolling his hips at the same pace. Henry's breathing quickened and his moans grew in pitch, until he moaned particularly loudly, his whole body trembling as he climaxed. 

Ben followed soon after, moaning Henry's name. Ben let himself fall backwards on the bed, Henry falling on top of him. They lay there for a while, chests heaving. About ten minutes later, when the haze of sleep was finally setting in, Ben spoke.

“We should uh, probably get cleaned up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lookit these hoes


	8. Morning After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry arrives to work just a bit late.
> 
> A nice customer orders a custom bouquet for her wife.
> 
> Ben stops by.
> 
> Wait, they know each other?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ohohohohhohOHHOHOHOHO
> 
> y'all im so goddamn gay-

Henry awoke the next morning to the sun shining through the large windows in the bedroom. He winced as he sat up, both from the soreness and from the light. Ugh what time was it? He searched the room for a clock and found one next to the bed. 8:50am...Not bad. Wait.

WAIT.

SHIT SHIT SHIT.

Henry scrambled out of bed and threw his clothes on, then rummaged through his bag to find his phone. 1 missed call from Wally. And about 50 texts. Give or take.

He texted Wally.

Hey, gonna be late today. I got home really late last night and crashed, and I guess I had too much to drink. Be there in an hour.

Wally responded almost immediately. 

K, just needed to make sure you weren't dead

Henry laughed at that and put his phone back down, then grabbed his keys. 

“Oh hey you're up!” Henry turned around and found Ben hopping on one foot behind him, evidently struggling to get his pants on. “Hey uh, I'm gonna be late if I don't leave fairly quickly, sorry about that, but uh, maybe I'll stop by later? If that's okay I mean-” He trailed off, concentrating on his shoes now. 

Henry laughed. “Sure, see you then,” he said, picking up his bag and making sure he had all his clothes. He waved bye to Ben, then left and headed down to his truck. Man, he needed to shower badly.

\--

Henry got home and took a quick shower, then changed into clean clothes and drove the truck back to the shop.

He was glad to see Wally had held the shop together. From the looks of it, he has been incredibly bored the whole time. He said hi as he walked by and hung up his stuff, then took his place behind the counter and checked the list of things he needed to do. 

About a half hour later, a woman in a suit walked in. She was very intense, her gaze piercing as she walked into the shop. Jet black hair, dark red lipstick. She was gorgeous. 

She browsed for a bit, then decided that none of the bouquets on display were quite what she had in mind and approached the counter.

“Hi, do you think I could order a custom bouquet? With a note attached too, if possible,” she said, and her voice was soft and kind. Henry nodded and took out a piece of paper to write on.

“Sure thing! Any particular color scheme you had in mind?” She thought for a moment.

“She likes yellow and purple,” she responded, “so I guess that?”

“Does she have any allergies?”

“Yeah, she's allergic to marigolds.”

“And what did you want the note to say?”

“‘Happy anniversary Sammi!’ But her name is spelled with an I instead of a y.” She seemed slightly embarrassed.

“May I have your name? Just so if you leave at some point in the next 10 minutes, no one else will take the bouquet.”

“Angela Andretti.”

“She certainly sounds like a lucky lady, Angela.”

Angela smiled and seemed to glow from the sheer amount of love she felt for Sammi.

With that, Henry went into the back and picked out 12 yellow and purple flowers and arranged them, then printed out a fancy note card, then returned to the front, where he saw Angela in a stare-down with someone else.

Ben.

“Well hiya Angel, long time no see!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hmmm I wonder what's gonna go down


	9. Old...friends...?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Angela butt heads, and Henry gets invited on a date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it's so short y'all but I promise the next one will make up for it

“It’s Angela,” she spat. “How many times do I have to tell you?”

“Riight right my deepest apologies,” Ben responded, bowing. She pursed her lips irritatedly, glaring at him. 

“What are you doing here, anyway?” she questioned, crossing her arms and lifting her chin, as if challenging him. Ben motioned towards Henry, and Henry tensed up.

“I’m visitin’ Henry,” Ben responded plainly, and Angela looked over at Henry accusingly. Henry shook his head and held up his hands.

“Hey, don’t drag me into this. I’m just the flower guy,” Henry said, setting the flowers down on the counter. Angela gave one last sharp look at Ben before walking over to the counter and paying for the flowers. She gave an apologetic look to Henry.

“Sorry, we’re just long-time rivals,” she said, putting her card back into her purse.

“No need to apologise,” Henry responded, smiling and handing her the flowers. “I’ve seen worse, believe me.” With that, he waved goodbye and she walked out of the store, glaring at Ben as she walked past him. After she had left, Henry turned his attention to Ben questioningly. 

“Hey, don’t look at me. We’ve just always butted heads,” Ben answered, shrugging. He looked at the door once more before giving his full attention to Henry. He leaned in close and looked Henry in the eye.

“So, how’s about a date?” 

Henry blinked, confused, and tilted his head slightly.

“A...date?” 

Ben grinned. When he realized Henry wasn’t quite following, he rolled his eyes playfully and began to explain.

“You know, dinner. Where do you like to eat?” he asked, making a vague gesture to the entire city around them. Henry thought for a moment. “And I’m paying, so don’t worry about cost.” Henry had never eaten anywhere fancier than a Denny’s, so he wasn’t quite sure where to go. There was always the one thing everyone loved to eat, though…

“Barry’s Pizza? Down the street?” Henry said, more of a question than an answer. Ben blinked, blindsided, clearly having expected some 5-star name.

“Are you sure? We can go anywhere, really-” “I’m sure, if that’s alright with you,” Henry responded, cutting him off. Ben paused, then grinned.

“Alrighty then, I like pizza. I’ll meet you there at...7?” 

“Sure, 7 it is. And, it is a pizza joint, so you probably don’t need to dress very fancy,” Henry answered, smiling. 

“I make no promises!” Ben shouted back, halfway out the door. Henry smiled amusedly and shook his head as he watched Ben waltz back down the street.


	10. Pizza and Old Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry meets Ben at the pizza joint. Ben claimed to have eaten pizza before, but not like this it seems. Things get heated when they're all alone in the shop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #YIKESS!!!! sorry for the late upload, I was styling my Taako wig and i completely lost track of time. sorry my dudes

Henry arrived at the pizza joint at 6:50pm, and was surprised to see Ben already sitting there. He didn’t look like he’d been waiting long, though his face certainly did light up when he saw Henry.

They hugged, then Henry took his seat across from Ben. They stared awkwardly at each other for a moment before snickering and glancing at the menu hanging from the ceiling up near the register. 

“Are we gonna order a whole pizza or just individual slices?” Henry asked, and Ben seemed perplexed. 

“A whole...individual…?? Well, how much are you gonna eat?” 

“How much are YOU gonna eat?”

They stared each other down for a long, silent moment, then finally Ben spoke.

“I mean, I feel like individual slices would be better for now…?” He answered, sounding confused. “Just so, y’know, we can each eat our share? And not have to deal with what the other person orders? Not that it’s bad or anything, just that my orders are a bit weird-”

“That works,” Henry interrupted, smiling. “Well, if you know what you’re getting, we can go order.”

“We have to...GO order?”

“Well duh, there’s no waiters here.”

Ben concernedly pushed himself up out of his chair and followed Henry up to the front. He let Henry order first. Henry ordered two slices of cheese pizza. Ben ordered next. He ordered two slices of sausage and pepperoni pizza, then paid for their food.

They returned to their table to wait for their order, and Ben was clearly perplexed by the whole thing. Henry took this time to notice what he was wearing. A black button-up shirt, black slacks, but no tie. So, fancy, but not to the point of ‘I think this to be a 5-star restaurant’ fancy. Henry snickered a bit, and Ben worriedly raised an eyebrow.

“It’s just your outfit. Is this your idea of not-fancy?”

“Well, I don’t know what not-fancy looks like. I haven’t exactly been wearing clothes long, you know.”

“What, so you walked around naked for the entirety of your life?”

“...Yes.”

Henry laughed. Ben was weird, but the nervousness seemed to be seeping into his words.

“Relax, it’s just a pizza joint.” 

Ben sighed and visibly relaxed a bit, alerting Henry to just how tense he had been. A moment later, their order was called and Henry went up to grab it. He returned a moment later and set Ben’s plate down in front of him. 

Ben stared down at the pizza. He’d said he’d had pizza before but...Henry guessed it was probably not at some greasy pizza joint like this. Maybe on some fancy menu of some fancy restaurant. 

Henry took the first bite, enjoying the greasy pizza. Ben looked alarmed for a moment, but tentatively picked up his own slice and took a bite. …. He looked alarmed, to say the least. Not in a bad way, per say, but in a ‘wha t the h e l l is this made of’ way.

“It’s so greasy,” he answered after a moment. Henry rolled his eyes, as if to say ‘duh.’

“I mean, it is a pizza joint. It’s never that dry sad stuff they serve in fancy restaurants. This is the good stuff.”

“It is good.”

They ate for a while, trading jokes and stories in between bites. Once they were done, they sat and chatted for a long while. Most, if not all of the customers had left by this point. There was no one behind the register. It was pretty much them.

Ben shifted in his seat and winced. He drew his hand up to the table, and Henry noticed he had cut his finger on the metal edge of the table. Which, by itself wouldn’t have been too concerning, had it not been for the color of his blood.

Black.

“What happened to your finger??” Henry asked, trying not to sound too alarmed. Ben shrugged and wrapped his finger in a napkin.

“Just scraped it ‘s all,” he responded, as if this was a completely normal thing.

“But it’s black.”

“Duhh. We ARE made of ink, y’know, Henry.”

Henry grew even more concerned.

“Wait what??? You too???” Henry’s voice became high-pitched, and Ben looked at him quizzically, as if he was glancing over something incredibly obvious.

“Henry, it’s me. Bendy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to those of u who figured it out almost instantly: damn u but also congratz u were right


	11. Oh,,

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry needs some time to think things over.

Henry laughed nervously. When Ben didn’t laugh, Henry squinted at him. The slicked-back inky black hair, dark eyes, and devilish mouth should have been dead giveaways. Henry withdrew his arms from the table and sat as far back in his chair as he could without seeming rude. Ben- Bendy- noticed this, and sighed.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Henry asked quietly, thankful that no one else was there. Bendy glanced down for a moment, then took a deep breath.

“I thought you knew,” he responded, sounding guilty. “I asked you several times if it was alright with you, under the assumption that you knew…” A momentary pause. “I guess not.”

They sat in silence for a long while, neither looking at the other. Both felt guilty. Suddenly the mood was gone, replaced by a strange sadness.

“I think I’m gonna go,” Henry finally spoke. Bendy seemed to wince, but said nothing. “I need some time to think.”

With that, he got up and left the store. Bendy sighed and rested his head in his hands.

“Damn, you sure messed that one up,” a voice floated over from behind the counter. It was the owner.

“Oh shut the hell up Boris,” Bendy groaned.

 

\--

 

Henry walked home quickly, wary of the dark alleyways. He thought as he walked, running through the past few minutes in his mind over and over, trying to analyze them, as if he were merely a bystander trying to infer what happened. It didn’t help. 

He felt like an idiot. How did he not realize..? It was literally right in front of him the whole time, and he hadn’t noticed. Bendy hadn’t even acted any different, he was exactly the same as he had been so long ago. He even spoke like him. Why had Henry been so stupid?!

By the time Henry got home, he felt really guilty. He wasn’t quite sure why. Was it the way he immediately left when he found out? Was it because of how he’d responded all those years ago? He wasn’t sure, but it was eating away at him. And it was late. Really late. He wanted to sleep.

He set his coat on the table next to his front door and just barely remembered to lock the door before ambling back towards his room. He paused in front of the kitchen because he thought he heard something in there, but a quick flip of the lights showed no intruders. 

He stood in the living room for a while, staring out the window, lost in thought. The moonlight was streaming in through the sliding glass door, and it gave the room a cold glow. He shivered. It seemed oddly cold in here.

Henry began walking towards his room again when he stepped in something wet. He bent down and felt the floor. Sure enough, it was wet. But why?

It was too late for this shit. Henry was tired, and god damn it he was going to sleep before midnight. 

He briskly walked into his room, ignoring his wet sock. He was about to close the door and lay down when he noticed a figure standing next to his bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aND IT LOOKS LIKE HE'S GONNA HAVE QUITE A LOT OF TIME TO THINK THINGS OVER Y'ALL /sweats
> 
> also listen i know it's short but things should speed up sooooooon OO'


	12. Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry's visitor turns out to be an old friend, and they have a lot to discuss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :3333333

Henry froze mid-step, and the figure shifted. It got up and started walking over to him. He shrieked and ran out into the living room. He didn’t exactly have any weapons in the house. Panicking, he grabbed a pillow, prepared to smack whatever it was square in the face. He listened.

Silence.

Whatever it was, it either stopped walking, or walked silently. He wasn’t sure he liked either option. 

A moment later, it became apparent that it was walking silently, as its hand reached around the edge of the doorway and gripped it with an inky clawed hand.

Inky??

Henry held his breath, preparing his pillow for an assault on the enemy. A few seconds and….WHAP! He smacked whatever it was in the face, and let out a small breath in victory. The creature huffed, then pushed the pillow away and peeked around the corner, an exasperated look on its face.

Henry yelped, trying to smack it with the pillow again, to no avail. The creature was made of ink, taller than Henry, and with two curved horns protruding from its temples. It gave him an extremely salty look, then crossed its arms and cleared its throat.

“Dude, chill.” The voice was familiar. Oddly familiar. Henry lowered the pillow slightly, but still kept a firm grip on it, wary.

“Who are you? Why are you in my house??” Henry’s voice was high-pitched, though there was no shakiness to it. The creature sighed.

“Dude it’s me, Wally. From the uh, the shop.” Henry gave him a quizzical look, but didn’t stop him. “I saw that dude come into the shop earlier and something about him was off, so I uh, kinda followed you?? To the pizza place. Not in like a creepy way but in like a ‘make sure you don’t get snatched’ way, right. And then you left? Really late at night. And you know things get kinda sketchy after dark right so I just uh, followed you home? Again, not in a creepy way, but-”

“Okay okay I get that, but what’s with the ink????” 

“From the studio. Remember, we worked together? Or did that hit to the head really fry your circuits?”

Henry blinked, confused. Now that he thought about it, Wally had seemed familiar. But he definitely wouldn’t have remembered him working at the studio. Wally sighed, running a hand over his head and shifting back into a human appearance. 

“Guess you don’t remember. Oh well. Anyways, yeah, sorry if I spooked you.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at Henry for a moment. Silence, then he spoke again. “Who was that, anyways?”

“Bendy.”

“Oh, the dude who ordered all those bouquets a while back, Mr. Doverman?”

“Yeah, but he’s Bendy.”

“Ben D.? Is that what he told you to call him?” 

“No. Bendy. B e n d y.”

Wally blank-faced.

 

“...Bendy.”

“Yep.”

“The demon. The ink demon.”

“Yep.”

“What the fuck.”

“I know.”

“He asked you out??? What???”

“It’s complicated.”

“Do I wanna know?”

“No.”

“Fair enough.”

They sat in silence for a while, but Wally’s curiosity got the better of him. 

“I’m guessing by how quickly - and alone - you walked out of there that it didn’t go so well.”

“Well, when someone hides their identity from you after you had a bad split a while ago, you tend to feel a bit betrayed.”

“That’s fair...but what did he do?”

Henry thought on it. Technically, Bendy hadn’t done anything that Henry hadn’t consented to. He always asked permission. Always made sure it was okay with Henry. Gave him space.

“He didn’t do anything.”

“So...then why are you mad at him?”

“I...don’t know,” he finally answered, feeling a bit guilty. Maybe he wasn’t mad at Bendy. Maybe he was mad at himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm surprised all y'all immediately sided with Henry, considering that Bendy's done nothing wrong (other than the stupid dungeon thing but that's in the past). Henry's just a dumbass who doesn't know how to open up to anyone. lov both the bois


	13. Amends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wally crashes at Henry's place, some early morning cartoons are watched, and a visitor shows up at the door. Apologies are made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ya boi just graduated high school on friday y e e t time to go study astrobiology

Henry stirred the next morning around 5:30, dressed in his pajamas, but on top of the covers. He groaned and pulled himself out of bed, finding Wally crashing on the couch. He made his way past him and into the kitchen, prepping some sort of breakfast. Cereal works, right? Not that either of them really needed to eat, but…

It was Thursday, and technically they should have to work, but since they were both there, it was kind of pointless. Maybe he could just...cancel work that day. He didn’t really feel like working anyways. Bendy would probably show up to try and talk to him, and that was really the last thing he wanted right now. 

Wally woke up about ten minutes later, and they both ate cereal in front of the TV, which was playing cartoons. They vegetated in front of the TV for about an hour and a half, until Henry heard a knock at the door around 8:15. He went to open it, and was really not surprised to see Bendy standing there. 

“What do you want,” Henry asked, really not wanting to do this right now. Bendy shifted from one foot to the other, then made as if he were trying to get into the house, which Henry prevented by blocking his path with his arm. Bendy huffed and looked at Henry.

“Look, I’m sorry. I don’t know what you’re mad at me about, but I’m sorry. I just wanted to ask why you were mad, so I could try and fix it.”

Henry felt really guilty then, and was really questioning how this could possibly be a demon standing in front of him. He didn’t have time to respond, because Wally chimed in from the couch.

“Yoooo is that Bendy??” Bendy made a weird face and tried to see past Henry, managing to catch a glimpse of Wally.

“Who’s that?”

“That’s Wally,” Henry explained. “He works with me at the flower shop.”

“Why’s he here?”

“He broke into my house last night and I just kinda...let him stay.”

“DID NOT!” Wally interjected.

“Did too and you know it. Anyways, uhh…” Henry rubbed the back of his head. “Really, I should be the one apologizing.”

“Why?” Bendy tilted his head questioningly, confused.

“Well...I mean, I kinda overreacted, and I didn’t give you much of a chance to explain. And it was kinda my fault too, I should have known…” He trailed off, and they both sat there in silence for several minutes.

“Damn, the tension is thick,” Wally said, coming up behind Henry. “Listen, Henry, it’s been fun, but I’m gonna hit the road. I’ve got two cats, and I need to make sure they don’t burn the house down while I’m gone.”

“Wally they’re cats.”

“Exactly, they could probably single-handedly defeat any deity in combat if they wanted to. Later!” Wally made his way past both Henry and Bendy and walked away. Henry and Bendy looked back at each other.

“Do you, uh, mind if I come in for a moment?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what happens next? steamy? fluffy? horribly embarrassing awkwardness? some unholy combination of the three? who knows


	14. In that Moment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A brief discussion is had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who lived chucklefucks that's right its ya boy Tet, back at it again with that Gay Shit

Henry tensed, nervous and uneasy, but swallowed the feeling creeping up his spine and stood to the side, allowing Bendy into the house. Bendy seemed to hesitate a moment, glancing at Henry as if confused, but continued into the house. Once he was inside, Henry shut the door and turned around just in time to see Bendy plop down onto the couch, a small piece of his hair bouncing as he landed. 

Okay, ignore the hair, Henry thinks to himself. It’s just hair. 

Henry went and sat in the armchair next to the couch, trying to keep some semblance of distance between the two of them. A moment passed, then two, then three. Bendy, apparently deciding he couldn’t stand the tense silence, spoke up.

“So.”

A single, simple word, yet it had so many possible connotations, so many possible tones, implications, feelings. Unsure, Henry responded.

“S...So?”

“Did...did you really not know it was me?” Bendy asked, and Henry shrunk a bit in his seat, ears burning as he stared over at the wall. “Even when we, you know…?”

Internally screaming, knowing full well how obvious it had been in hindsight, Henry inhaled sharply. 

“Well… I mean, I-” He faltered. “I guess, I… I don’t know. Maybe I recognized something, but I just didn’t want to believe…” Another long pause. He continued, quietly, almost too quiet for anyone but Bendy to believe. “I guess I just didn’t want to believe that you still cared.”

Bendy seemed taken aback by that statement, maybe even a bit hurt. “Why wouldn’t I still care? You changed my life, you saved me, you made me. Why wouldn’t I care about you?” Sadness laced his voice, and Henry looked at him. They made eye contact, and in that single moment, that little moment, Henry could see his soul, a desperate yearning for the connection they once had. He could feel the love Bendy felt for him, the fondness. And in that moment, Henry felt the same as he had so long ago. Early morning sunlight streamed in through the slanted blinds. Bendy was still waiting for an answer, and Henry wasn’t sure he had the words to respond, so he did the next best thing.

Without thinking, he leapt out of his seat and wrapped his arms around Bendy tightly, as if he were afraid he were going to fall, going to leave again. 

Bendy was frozen for a second, blindsided by the sudden expression, but returned the hug nonetheless. He pulled away just enough to see Henry’s face, and when Henry looked up at him, his brown eyes looked like home. The sun streamed across his face, illuminating his freckles, making his curly brown hair seem to glow. He leaned down and softly pressed his lips against Henry’s, and it felt like the first time all over again. When Henry kissed him back, he finally felt whole again.

After a moment, they finally pulled away. Henry glanced at the clock. 8:30. He really wanted to stay like this forever, but a buzz from his phone in the next room drew his attention. He got up to check it, and it was wally.  
‘Dude, do we work today’

Henry blinked, then groaned. He didn’t really feel like working, but he also didn’t want to stay here all day, because he knew things would either get awkward or get out of hand. He texted back.

‘yeah, sorry. See you in an hour’

Henry could practically feel Wally’s groan of despair across the fabric of space and time, but it had to be done. He went back out into the living room, phone in hand. Bendy seemed to know what he was going to say.

“I can’t stay long, I’ve got to open the shop in like an hour, so I gotta be there in a half hour to start getting ready to open.” He kinda stood there, looking apologetic but somewhat relieved.

“I figured. You want me to drive you to work?” Bendy offered. Henry shook his head.

“No thanks, I usually just walk.”

Silence for a moment.

“Hey, what d’you say we meet up after your shift? We could go somewhere if you wanted, like a movie or maybe-” Bendy trailed off, suddenly timid.

Henry wasn’t sure what to say. He really, really wanted to, but he was nervous. Scared. Wanted to love him, scared to be loved. 

You know what?

Fuck it.

“Sure! I’ll be done around five, so we can meet up then,” Henry responded, taking a quiet breath, trying to relax.

Bendy blinked twice, then grinned, that characteristic grin of his that played with Henry’s heart. 

“Sweet! I’ll pick you up then, and we can… figure it out from there I guess?”

“Sounds good! If you’ll excuse me though, I need to go shower and get ready.”

“Want some help?” Bendy winked at him.

“Absolutely Not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall better behave in the comments this time.


	15. Revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While mentally prepping himself for tonight, Henry meets a few familiar faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With over twice as many chapters and two fewer pages, this story is almost as long as my WIP novel. btw, should I post that here too? Would y'all be interested in reading that? It's about a college student who gets hired as Professional Clown Wrangler with a traveling circus, which is about how it sounds, except one of the clowns is a demon from another dimension.

Bendy left, and Henry got ready for the day. Showered, changed, ran his fingers through his hair to make it somewhat presentable, then headed off to work.

He met Wally at the shop, began setting up, then finally opened for the day. And, as usual, the day went by fast. You’d be surprised how many people need flowers on a daily basis. A couple of his ‘regulars’ came in to say hi, perused the flowers, made small talk, the usual routine. As is the way of life in New York City, he hardly recognized any of the faces that came in.

Well, except for two.

“Hey.”

Henry looked up to see Angela standing there, looking like she had just gotten off of a really long business call. 

“Hi, Angela! What can I do fo-”

“I just got off a call with Mr. Doverman.”

Oh. So his guess was right.

“...o.oh?? How did that go?” He wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that, so he waited nervously for her next words.

“About as you’d expect. He told me about your plans for tonight.” Henry froze. 

“My..plans? Did you ask about that or did he jus-”

“He totally threw it out the first chance he got. He seems really excited. Though I don’t know why he called to tell ME, of all people, but. Listen. I don’t know what you see in him, if you see in him what I do, or if you see something entirely new, but I’m just going to say this anyways: He’s a Dumbass. He will do things, he won’t exactly think them through, and while I don’t think he means any harm by it, sometimes he does cause harm. I don’t know what kind of history you two have, or how long you’ve known him, but I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. Don’t get the wrong idea, you and I aren’t friends, but I feel obligated to tell you this.”

Henry wasn’t sure how to respond to that, or even if he should, so he just blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“Don’t worry, we’ve known each other for almost a hundred years, I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

Dead. Silence.

“You.. you what?”

Henry blinked, realizing what he had just said. Oh for fuck’s sake. No backing out now, I guess.

“Y..yeah, uh, it’s a long story-”

“Wait, Henry?”

“Uhm, yeah?”

“Henry Henry?” 

“That’s my name.”

“As in, Henry Drew, right?” 

“Yep.”

“Which means… you...you Know, don’t you?”

“I know a lot of things. What are we talking about here?”

She gave a suspicious side-eye glance at Wally, and Henry chimed in.

“Don’t worry, Wally knows.”

“What the hell. What. The Hell. How, may I ask, did all of us not only end up in the same place, but working in the same district? What’s next, is Boris just gonna waltz through tha-”

“I heard my name! Hiya Henry, how’s it going?” As it happened, the pizza joint owner from the other night came in through the door. Well, this was a surprise.

“Did you know about him too??” Angela questioned, and Henry shook his head. 

“Hi, Boris. What can I do for you?” Henry was taken aback, yes, but not enough to be incapable of doing his job. 

“Oh, just comin’ in to look at the flowers. Wanna spruce up the front counter, y’know?” 

Henry nodded knowingly, as if he completely understood. Angela just looked at him in exasperation.

“Well, I guess-” She faltered, still thrown off by the whole situation. “Then I guess you know what I meant. That’s all I had to say. Goodbye.”

“Oh, bye! Say hi to Sammi for me!” Angela let the door semi-slam behind her, slowing it just enough to keep it from being obnoxious. Yikes.

Boris had been perusing the selection of pre-made bouquets, and now came up to the checkout with one in each hand. Henry rang him up, helped him out the door, then hid behind the counter.

Dear lord. What a day.

The rest of the day passed smoothly, but Henry was still on-edge by the time closing time rolled around.

It certainly didn’t help when Bendy rolled up in a black Rolls Royce, parked, hopped out, and leaned against the car. He was dressed in a black suit with a black undershirt and black tie, hair slicked back, and Henry couldn’t help but stare. Oof. This was going to be a long night.

“Heya doll, ready?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> o o f a whole ass man


	16. The Date- Pt. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry gets ready for his dinner date with Bendy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's midterms week and I am going to die but not before I finish writing the date scene gdi

The ride was awkward, but at least they didn’t have to make eye contact. Bendy - Ben? - drove the whole way, and while the ride lasted a maximum of twenty minutes, it felt like an eternity. Henry did everything he could to keep his focus on the passing cars instead of on both his and Bendy’s appearances. He certainly wasn’t thinking about the suit. Not at all. After all, it was just clothing, and undernea- wait no that’s a bad place to think about. Uhm. His hair really looked like ink, slicked back like that. Dark eyes seemed almost black in this light. And god how the light made him look beautiful. The setting sun cast rays of red, pink, orange, and purple, and everything around them seemed as if it were pulled straight from a comic. The colors shone on Bendy, took to him the way ink takes to paper. His black hair reflected all the colors of the sky, his skin tinted pinks and reds and purples, his features accentuated by the shadows. A sunset sky for a sunset man. How romantic. Henry was sure he looked less than adequate, but he tried not to think about appearances. He thought about the road, not about Bendy.

Little did he know, Bendy was thinking about him too. Every once in a while, he’d steal a glance at him out of the corner of his eye, marvelling at the way the sunshine gleamed off of the gorgeous brown curls of his hair, how his olive eyes seemed almost golden, illuminated by the sun. How the caramel tint of his skin seemed to almost glow, how his plaid vest just seemed to suit every aspect of him. How the slight flush of his cheeks almost disappeared in the pink glow, how sat up straight, tense but yet soft, how his legs were crossed delicately, left over right, and how every time Bendy turned to glance at him, Henry would quickly turn away, shy. How there was a flower petal nestled in his hair, left over from the day’s work. How amazingly perfect he looked. 

The ride passed in mutual silence. When they got to their destination, Henry was a bit alarmed.

“...Isn’t this your building?” Henry asked, craning his neck to look up at the skyscraper in front of him. Bendy stood next to him, hand itching to take Henry’s, but he resisted.

“Yes, I suppose it is. You need to get changed.” 

Henry squinted and made A Face. Bendy laughed, patted him on the shoulder, and went to open the door for him. 

“Relax,” he reassured, “the restaurant is just a bit fancy, is all.”

“But I don’t ha-”

“Taken care of. Just get your butt over here.”

They took the elevator up to the penthouse, and Henry tensed a bit when memories from the last time he was here flooded back. Definitely not gonna think about that.

“Your stuff is in the bathroom. Go get ready, I’ll be here if you need anything.” Bendy paused. “Unless... you need help getting changed?” He flashed a devilish grin and Henry would’ve thrown a shoe at him had he had one on hand. Instead, he shot him a quick scowl, then entered the bathroom and shut the door behind him. Yikes.

Henry noticed a bag on the counter, and upon opening it, he found it to be a suit. Remarkably similar to the one he wore last time, it consisted of a cream-colored jacket, black undershirt, and black slacks. Sitting next to it were a pair of dress shoes, a tie, and a piece of paper with a smiley face on it. He wasn’t sure whether to laugh or stress-cry about the ‘note’, so he just flipped it over and pretended it didn’t exist instead. He quickly got dressed, gave himself a once-over in the mirror to make sure he looked somewhat presentable, then exited the bathroom. Upon re-emerging into the living room, Bendy gave a low whistle. 

“Well damn doll, don’t you look like a cake-eater*.” Bendy gave him a not-so-sly up-and-down glance, and Henry hid behind his hand, trying to pretend that wasn’t what it very obviously was. He shifted from one foot to the other nervously, as if eager to get this over with. 

“So uh,” Henry began, “where is this restaurant?” 

Bendy thought for a moment, and Henry looked at him concerned, wondering if he’d actually made a reservation at all.

“It’s over in Times Square. A place called The View.” 

“Isn’t that, like, expensive?” Henry queried, and Bendy laughed again, then gestured around them.

“Darlin’, does it look like that matters?” He supposed not. “Well, let’s blouse**!” 

As they were in the elevator, Henry asked him.

“What’s the deal with the 20s slang tonight, Bendy?” 

“If you want, you can refer to me as Ben. And honestly? Not a clue. Maybe you’ve dredged it up from the depths of my mind.”

Henry rolled his eyes.

The ride to the restaurant was silent, like earlier, but something else buzzed between them. Maybe it was because Henry felt a little more relaxed, maybe it was because it had gotten dark enough that neither of them could see each other’s faces, or maybe it was just because of the promise of food.

When they got up to the 48th floor and entered the restaurant, they were led to a table by the windows, with a clear view of Times Square. They ordered their drinks, and then Henry gazed down at the streets below them, lost in thought. Until a familiar voice from the table next to them drew his attention.

It was Angela. Sitting with a young woman whom he presumed to be Sammi.

Oh dear.

This was going to be a wild night indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The slang used:
> 
> *Cake-Eater: in the 1920s refers to a “ladies’ man”; later, slang for homosexual  
> **Let's Blouse: “Let’s blow this popsicle stand!”
> 
>  
> 
> also y'all know I love teasin ya


	17. The Date- Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night turned out to be pretty alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> part two of two yea boiiissss!

Henry quickly hid behind his menu, signaling for Ben to do the same. Once their identities were obscured behind a selection of meal options, Henry explained.

“That’s Angela!” he whispered, tilting his head in the direction of the neighboring table.

“So?” Ben responded, starting to put down his menu shield.

“So--!!!” Henry nearly yelped, quickly lifting Ben’s menu again. “SO!!! If she sees me you have any idea how hARD it would be to explain this???? She already tried to confront me once today about our relationship, she doesn’t need to-”

“You dumbasses aren’t exactly hidden, you know.”

Henry froze, slowly lowering his mask. “Heeeyyyyyyy Angela, fancy meeting you here, on such a lovely night! This must be Sammi, right?”

Sammi waved, but Angela gave him a stern look. “Did you really think we wouldn’t have noticed either of you?” Henry laughed sheepishly and stared down at his silverware. “Besides, we were going to ignore you anyways, so there was no need to worry.”

“Aw, were we really? But we’re all friends!” Sammi chimed in, and Angela looked at her, a bit tired. “Here, let’s just join the tables together! It’ll be more fun that way!” After some rustling, the tables were joined so that Sammi and Henry were on one side, and Angela and Ben were on the other. “See! Much better.”

“Heya Angel-”

“Shut up.”

Ben folded his hands in front of him like a kindergartner waiting to be released to lunch, and Angela crossed her arms and angled herself away from him. Henry wanted to hide in a corner somewhere, and Sammi just looked amused. They sat like that in silence for quite a while.

“Sooooooooo uh, how’s….life?” Henry asked, trying to start some sort of conversation.

“Oh it’s great! Angie and I are going on vacation next week!” Sammi beamed, looking at Angela, and there was so much love in her eyes that Henry almost cried.

“That sounds fun! Where to?”

“Philadelphia! For two days, and then from there to DC for another four, and then we’re coming back on the tenth.”

“Nice! What’re you guys gonna do while you’re there?”

“We’re visiting my family, and then she’s also got a meeting in Philly, so it’s kinda two-birds-one-stone, you know?”

Henry nodded knowingly and shot a side-glance at Ben, who was listening but looked extremely awkward. 

“What about you, Angela? Are you excited to go on vacation?” Henry asked, trying to get all four of them to participate.

“Yes, because it means I won’t have to see Mr. Doverman for a week.”

Sammi laughed, Henry tried to stifle a chuckle, and Ben feigned offense, also trying to stifle a laugh. Angela rolled her eyes, a small, stifled smile making the corners of her mouth quiver. 

“Aw, come on, you two are friends!” Sammi laughed, and Angela and Ben shared a Glance. 

Before any of them could chime in, however, the waiter arrived and they all placed their orders. They all ordered fairly normal items, except Sammi, who ordered chicken strips from the kids’ menu. 

After the waiter left, they all looked at each other for a moment. Sammi pushed her chair back and stood up.

“I’ll be right back, you three keep chatting.” She turned and went off, presumably in search of the bathroom.

Once she was gone, all three of them just stared at each other. 

“So...why exactly are you two rivals?” Henry asked, too curious to ignore it any further.

“I try to be friendly, but she just doesn’t want to be friends I guess.”

“Because he’s always the center of attention, and he knows it, and he acts like a total dick sometimes because of it.” 

Both of them paused and looked at each other.

“Wait, I do?”  
“Yes, you have a very bad habit of gloating about everything, and to be honest, it kind of gets old.”

Ben looked out the window, seemingly lost in thought. Angela looked the other way, and Henry just looked from one to the other, the tension in the air too thick to cut with a knife. They simply sat in silence until Sammi came back, and Henry and Sammi made small chat until the food arrived. Once they all got settled with their food, Henry had an idea and turned to Sammi. 

“Pretend to say something funny to me, then we’ll laugh and dodge any questions they ask,” he whispered, and she got a sort of devilish grin that rivaled even Ben’s. 

She whispered some nonsense about socks, and then they both snickered, catching the attention of the other side of the table, who were still involved in a cold war. They looked at Henry and Sammi, who eyed them out of the corners of their eyes, whispered some more, then laughed again. 

“What are you two doing over there?” Angela asked, suspicious.

“Oh nothing,” Henry replied, and from the shift in Sammi’s posture, he guessed she understood what he was trying to do.

“Yeah, nothing. Just wondering a couple of things…” she chimed in, and they chuckled some more.

“Oh yeah? Like what?” Ben questioned, leaning forward, his curiosity piqued.

“Well….. I dunno, should we tell them?” Henry asked Sammi, and she shrugged.

“I dunnoooo,” she responded, then whispered some more. They laughed again, and Angela looked a bit ruffled.

“Fine. We’ll just have our own conversation over here, isn’t that right, Ben?”

“Wha- Oh ! Yes! And you’re not invited!” 

They began muttering back and forth, and Ben snorted. Wait, were they actually having a real conversation?

Henry whispered a joke about space, and Sammi laughed. Angela and Ben continued talking, and Henry could almost make out some of their conversation.

Hey. Wait. This isn’t fair. They’re actually talking about legitimate things!

“Wait, are they having a real conversation?” Henry whispered, and Sammi glanced over.

“It sounds like it! I wonder what they’re talking about,” she responded, and Henry made eye contact with Ben for a split second.

“Sounds like a fun conversation over there,” Henry spoke up, and Angela gave him A Look.

“Oh yes, probably even more fun than that poor exchange you two had,” she shot back, then smirked. “So Henry, I hear you can’t dance.” 

Henry froze, then squinted. “I- well- you-” he spluttered, then took a drink of water and tried again, pretending to be Cool. “Well, I suppose. That is, assuming you can take the word of someone like Ben, who trips over his own feet.” Ben choked on the glass of wine he was currently finishing, and Angela laughed. 

“Excuse me????? Mister three-steps-is-a-dance?” Ben crumpled up his napkin and playfully chucked it at him, and they all laughed.

“Well, that’s better than Angela. She just stands there awkwardly and sways from one foot to another,” Sammi added. Angela’s face flushed and she pointed at Sammi.

“Hey! That’s valid! I’m valid!” She began to list off a variety of dance styles that all utilized swaying, and that devolved into a deep conversation about the evolution of dance. The rest of the meal passed like that, and by the time they had paid and were leaving the restaurant, Henry felt that everyone was finally starting to get along. They said goodbye in the lobby and went their separate ways. 

Once they got in the car and began driving back to Ben’s place, Henry finally spoke up.

“So what exactly WERE you two talking about?” Henry asked, and Ben snorted.

“I knew you’d ask. We were sharing funny stories, and we figured that since you two were probably talking about us, we should talk about you two.” Though it was too dark to see Ben’s face, Henry could tell by the way he was talking that he had a smile on his face. “What about you two? What were you talking about?”

“Ha! Funny story, you see, we weren’t actually talking. We were just telling jokes and whispering jibberish in order to make you two curious. It had the added bonus of making you and Angela talk, so that was nice.” 

“I feel. Used. Played. Like a fiddle.” Ben laughed, and Henry giggled, then yawned.

Back at the penthouse, Henry changed out of his suit and tried to give it back to Ben, who shook his head. “Nonsense, why would I keep something if it’s not meant for me?” 

Henry rolled his eyes and put the suit back in the bag. “Okay, fine. Now wha-aaaht?” He yawned mid-sentence, and Ben laughed. 

“Well, you seem tired. Why don’t you get some sleep?”

“You mean, just crash here?” 

“Yeah, wouldn’t be the first time.”

Henry sighed. “Fiiiinneeeee.” He set his bag down by the door and went to go sit on the couch.

“Wait, what are you doing?” Ben asked.

“...sitting? Laying down? So that I may Sleep?” 

“You can just sleep in the bed,” Ben responded, pointing at the bedroom. 

“That’s...weird. Are you sure?”

“Doll, I wouldn’t have brought it up unless I was absolutely certain.”

Henry went into the bedroom and sat down on one side of the bed, then let himself relax and lay all the way down. By the time Ben was done putting his stuff away and changing into his nightclothes, Henry had already fallen asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aww how sweet.
> 
> I'm currently juggling both this and preparations for a huge festival in late April, so if you'd like details on that just lmk and I'll link to the info in the next chapter.


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